This monthly column deals with the biggest problem with fan fiction and regular
fiction today-lack of detail. In each month, you will find the following
sections:

Detail Central:
This will focus on the correction for the month, and will be the beef of
this column. One of the biggest problems with fanfic and fiction in general
is the lack of realism and detail in the story.

Review of the Month:
Send me your fanfic (or chapter of a fanfic) to review on the basis of detail,
creativity, characterizations and dialogue. I will read and review one per
month and feature it here. I will be honest, but I will be blunt. Please
see the details below before submitting.

Expanding Horizons:
Here I welcome reader input to generate more readership of a fandom. Fanfiction,
by nature, requires that you have at least some background in the story before
beginning to understand it. I offer the challenge to one reader a month to
describe for us the basic ins and outs of their favorite fandom, provide
some helpful websites, and a list of some of the better (and newbie friendly)
fanfiction.

Feedback:
I will respond to your comments/concerns here in the column. Criticism is
welcome, but flames will be deleted.

Detail Central:

Whenever I see a script fic, I cringe. I want to curl up and scream, but
instead I will vent here in the column. Script fics are the worst offenders
of lack of detail. Why? It is it the nature of the beast.

History lesson: Scripts were originally used to produce plays, and later
Movies, and finally TV shows. They were left vague for a reason-while the
writer provided the words, the director provided the actions, the set people
made the environment the scene took place in, the lighting and music people
set the moods, and the costumers and property masters handled, you guessed
it, costumes and props.

As a writer, you cannot just be the dialogue. You have to be the whole cast,
crew and production team for this story. You have to open the doors, plush
the pillows, and entice your reader to stay. Your characters must be real,
your sets amazing and the moods must be turned into vivid images that the
reader can see in their mind.

So, aside from staying away from script fics, how can you achieve this? How
can you make your reader begging you for more while seeing the whole picture?
Let's start with the basics.

First of all, think in terms of layers. A piece of writing needs to be as
perfectly engineered as a skyscraper. I will tell you my method; it may work
for you, it may not. Try it, and change it to suit your needs. The first
thing I do, is handle one scene at a time, and I avoid juggling too many
characters at once. There is a time when you need the entire original cast
together, but you probably won't get much character development done. Separate
them out; pair people together in their discussions. Unless they are at a
dinner party, under attack, or in a meeting, chances are, your entire cast
isn't going to be stuck together with Velcro.

When I write, the easiest part for me is the dialogue. I lay it down
first-sometimes not thinking to even put quote marks-and just let the characters
tell the story. I use rough dialogue at first. I don't think about reactions,
I just write it as if I was listening to these people having their discussion.

Next, I put it aside. I let it brew for a few hours, and then take it out.
I read through it, asking myself questions: Are the reactions believable?
Would this character say that to the other?

Then I do the blocking. This is general movement and location within in the
scene, and usually where I add the speech tags (he said, she said, etc).
Where are the characters? A bedroom? A meeting hall? Who is with them? Is
the room large? Is the character standing up? Sitting down? Does he/she move
around when he/she talks? What mood is this person in?

Finally, I add in the details. What color is the room? What does the furniture
look like? Is it cold? What are the characters wearing? What are their facial
expressions?

By handling dialogue like a layer cake, you can get away from those annoying
script fics and create a world you and your characters will be proud of.
Next month, I will discuss colors and how to use them to set moods.

Review of the Month:

Before you send me your fic for review here are the rules. Read them carefully:

1. I will not flame you, but I will offer honest, open, criticism.

2. Email me BEFORE you send the fic with a summary of the story and
what fandom it comes from. I will not discriminate, but I may need to do
some research if I am not familiar with the original work. If you send
me the fic without a warning note I will just delete it-my mailbox isn't
all that big!

3. Spell/grammar check before you send it to me!

4. Any rating is welcome, although if it is just slash or PWP, I probably
won't read it. At least let the sex have a point, people.

5. If you are writing an epic, I won't have time to read it. Select your
best chapter as the one you want me to review. Follow the procedure in #2,
just mention that it is a chapter of a larger work.

6. I publish at the end of every month, so it must received no later than
the fifteenth (15th)

7. Don't be offended if I don't review your fic. You can resubmit (following
the same procedure in #2) every month. I clean my mailbox out after I have
selected the fic to review.